Growing Up for Tom
by Lexisfightingrobots
Summary: Tom, our poster boy of solitude has, unexpectedly, found someone to care for him. Not a friend, not a Father, but a child, that he's stolen away to keep as his own brother. *NO time travel [Ive added Voldemort because he will be coming into play later on, and editing will be done to chapter 1. Soon. I promice.]
1. Horrid Endings, New Beginings

**This is the 5th story on my idea board wherein our dear Harry lands himself in the past. Im starting to see a pattern here. Chapters will be short. Trying to get things to you people quickly. Im crap at updating. **

***first sentence of this chapter corresponds with the first sentence of chapter 2. I may or may not continue with this trend. **

It began in mid summer when a young boy was abandoned by his (rather violent looking) uncle into the reluctant hands of Wool's Orphanage slightly tipsy Matron. A young boy who had the unfortunate timing to come at a time where there was simply no spare room. Or at least, not any that would be favorable for a young child barely three years of age.

The nursemaid, because all the infants were asleep, and all other workers were busy, lead the child to his new room. At least temporarily until the oldest got kicked out in just a few months. Or until someone runs away. Whichever comes first.

"You need to know child, to keep your head down, and your mouth shut. You'll be rooming with Riddle, and we don't have time to deal with any trouble he might cause if you bother him." she sniffed.

Young Harry merely nodded. He had learned a long time ago that it was really better not to speak at all most times.

"Here we are." The woman said with reluctance. She knocked for half a second, and then opened the door without waiting for a response. "Mr. Riddle." She said.

There, on a small and old looking bed sat a boy who looked to be 13 or 14 years old. He appeared to have been reading, but he stashed the book to the side before either the woman or Harry could even glance at it. And Harry wondered if it was one of those books Dudley and his friends liked to read with weird smiles on their faces but always hid away when anyone came near.

"Yes?" He answered. And Harry nearly flinched at how cold his voice was. Worse than even Aunt Petunia's had ever gotten.

The nursemaid did flinch. "You're the only one with room and a spare bed." She said stiffly. "He has to stay somewhere."

The boy turned his attention to Harry, who had the uncertain feeling of being evaluated. He scowled. "Leave him here and go."

The nursemaid was quick to do just that.

Harry and the boy stared at each other for an uncertain amount of time. Harry had only just started to fidget when the boy huffed. "You will keep to that side of the room, and keep away from me at all times."

Harty only glanced behind himself to the bed in question on the opposite side of the room from the boy before looking forward to the boy once more. His hands were fisted in the too large shirt from Dudley's younger years.

The boy scowled once more at his silence. "What do you want?" He asked, but the child only shook his head. "Do you understand me?" He asked irritably. Once again, the child only nodded. He nearly growled. "Then- Oh. Oh." He paused. He had only read of instances like this. Or of course the silencing charm. "You can't talk." He said plainly. The child was more hesitant this time, but he nodded still. "I suppose you'll bother me less like this." A sudden gleam sparked in Tom's eyes, and he looked to the child in a new light. "And you can't spill secrets if you can't speak."

"Well." He said, more relaxed. "I trust you'll won't be a bother,, and will keep quiet. I have nothing else to say to you."

Tom watched as the child nodded and walked, with quiet thuds of his feet, to the other side of the room and pulled himself atop of it with some effort. When Harry only sat silently on the bed, (admiring the fact that they gave him a real bed!) he looked back to his book, satisfied.

Harry meanwhile, had finally gotten a good look at the book. He only understood one word, he had heard it yelled at him enough times for it to stick out to him. He wondered if if this boy was one of those devil children his Uncle would rant about.

Because a book on magic is surely only something one of them would read.

**So yeah. This is all pretty useless dribble if ypu want to skip. I have two other stories in my google drive that im ****_really_**** excited about getting out. One is an HP/Sherlock crossover. (I FINALLY got to watch series 3 last night. [Thank you Netflix!] I marathoned it all, and im probably going to rewatch them tonight. Im in such a rush over them.) Its got Harry. Because I love Harry. And Jim. Jims a big part of it. The title pretty much explains it. But im only nearly done with chapter 1. Its plotted. Which will help me updating it. The next is another HP fic with Harry and Tom. But Lily gets to feature in it for some time too. Good on her. **


	2. Droll Vacations, Pleasant Surprises

**Bloody buggering fuck. (Sorry for swears. I'll be keeping it to a minimum, but its rated T for a reason.) I seem to have taken a rather long time with this, and i'm sorry. It is longer though. And in my opinion there are a lot of lines that im proud of that wouldn't have made it in otherwise, because I plot as I write as I go. Its late though, because my source of internet, and subsequently my google drive, is this phone. That im pretty much forced to share with my sister right now because reasons, so...**

**EDIT: Two days late. Got in trouble, and banned from the phone. Sorry.**

**Its here now, enjoy it.**

Everything _started _when Tom caught the boy speaking, of all things. Of course, I suppose the fact that he only spoke in hisses would garner even the attention of the mulish Slytherin.

Every year, towards the end of Summer, Mrs Cole would spare a bit of money to get all the children (who weren't sick with Summer cold) out of the orphanage. School was soon to start. And the closer it drew near, the less patience she seemed to have.

"STOP PUSHING EACH OTHER ABOUT!"

Which is why it was always a surprise to Tom that she insisted on coming along.

They were at the shore, as always. Tom didn't have any particular fondness for beaches, but he did enjoy the change of scenery. And the solitude that being at _this_ beach granted him. It didn't go past his notice the frightened glances he was getting from both the children and the workers from the orphanage. Every now and then he would stop and glare at one of them. He felt a small surge of empowerment when one or two of them started to cry.

Soon he realized that his little roommate was absent from the crowd. Though he didn't take much notice of it. Though he did notice none of the staff seemed too worried about the whereabouts of their smallest charge. It wasn't uncommon for the child to vanish for hours on end. And often time, the boy managed to do it without Tom noticing until sometimes even an hourafter the fact.

The first time anyone other than Tom noticed his vanishing acts was a year ago, near when the boy had first arrived. It was, actually, during the previous year's mandatory vacation. The caretakers had been beside themselves. It would do no good for their funding if they were to lose a child during a paid vacation.

Tom, in an odd moment of peacefulness, or perhaps it was boredom, sought out the evasive child in the spot he was found to be the year previously. It wasn't too far from the cave where Tom had successfully 'scarred for life' one Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop, a few years before he had started his time at Hogwarts.

The boy in fact _was _in the very spot he was found the year previously. It was possibly the nicest spot on the beach. Hidden away by a wall of weathered brown rock, surrounding what could be called a miniature beach. Sure enough, as soon as he passed the edge of the furthest stone, he was able to spot a small child, no older than five, crouched down with his back facing the older wizard and staring intently into one of the many tide pools.

Tom crept silently behind the boy and was about to demand the child's attention when he heard words coming out of the childs mouth. He was reasonably shocked. In the entire year the boy had been a ward of the orphanage, he had spoken not one word. It was the reason on Tom's part, that had allowed the child to continue his residence in Tom's room. He was curious at what the child would speak about when alone, and decided to keep his silence and wait. A decision he would be grateful for, for the years to come.

**:What do you do for the winter when the sun goes away?:**

Tom furrowed his eyebrows. Was the boy talking to the creatures in the tidepool? He huffed quietly and rolled his eyes. He supposed the the boy _was _a child. And thus privy to doing as such while playing _"pretend"._

**:When the cold season comes I fight among my kind for the glory of mating and spreading my young across the sea.:**

Tom's eyebrows promptly shot upwards in a rare show of surprise.

**:Oh. What's mating mean?:**

Tom's mind was rearing. What could this _mean?_ Focusing now, he could hear the tale tell hisses underlining the boys speech. He had done his research after Dumbledore had claimed his gift to be rare. He had found barely anything other than Slytherin himself was known to have been a parselmouth. And now another child - another _orphan- _ has been found to harbor the same gift. Were they related? _Somehow? _

**:It is something you shall learn of when you come of age hatchling.:**

**:Indeed.: **He interrupted, walking around into the child's range of sight. He was composed once more, and merely raised an elegant eyebrow at the sight of the large and potentially fatal sea snake laying leisurely in front of the young boy. **:You shouldn't ask about such things just yet.: **

Tom observed as the child flinched in surprise and attempted to shield the snake from his sight. The boy didn't say anything. But then he didn't expect him to. He smiled thinly and ignored the boy's stiff shoulders and verging on terrified stare. **:And who is your friend?:**

The snake reacted instantly, as he knew it would.

**:Another speaker! Oh this is a marvelous day! My name is Kepa Pianzi. It is an honor to have met two speakers in my lifetime.:**

Tom smirked inwardly at the dawning realization he saw in the child's eyes.

**:He's like me?: **The boy asked the snake. But his gaze was centered on Tom. There was no loss of wonderment in his eyes.

Tom gave him a placating smile he used often on first years and Hufflepuffs. **:Indeed I am. Tell me. How long have you known of your gift of the snake tongue?:**

But the boy completely bypassed the query. Either ignoring it or more excited over the fact that he was no longer alone in his "freakishness".

The boy shot up from his crouch and beamed a grin at him. **:You are! You are! You're like me! You're like **_**me!**_**: **There was an expression the child was wearing that Tom had never seen before on his face. It was..._happiness. _Pure _ecstasy_ at finding out he wasn't alone in his gift. He found himself wondering if he would have reacted similarly had he found someone who possessed magic at such a young age as well. Then he remembered his first meeting with Dumbledore and scowled. No. He likely wouldn't have.

The boy wasn't deterred in the least by his scowl and continued to beam up at the elder. It surprised him, truly. His scowl -and not the false one that was part of his model student character- had never before failed to strike a cautious fear into even the most stubbornly foolish of first years and Gryffindors. Without meaning to, Tom's scowl deepened. This was a puzzle with too many missing links. He wanted answers. And he would get them.

**:What's your name... Harrison, wasn't it?: **He hummed to himself when the boy nodded a yes. **:Your family. Did they know you speak snake-tongue?:**

Hesitantly, the child nodded once more. **:Uncle said it was a sign that I'm a Devil child, and auntie said I got it from my da.: **he said softly.

**:Well, this changes things.:**

**:It does?:**

**:Yes.: **Tom said. He leaned down so that his hands were on his knees. Still a little more than two heads taller than Harry. A calculating gleam in his eyes. **:It would seem, that you are far more intriguing than I could have guessed.:**

**:Is that good?:**

**:It's **_**very **_**good. Come now, Harrison. Its around time for us to leave. Tell your yellow-bellied friend goodbye. Perhaps we shall see him again next year.: **He stood straight and paused to wait for Harry.

Harry nodded happily, and waved to the poisonous snake. **:Goodbye, Kepa!: **

The snake hissed his goodbyes, and they were on their way. Harry grabbed Tom's hand in his excitement, but the Slytherin merely lifted an eyebrow and allowed it. The child had never been too tiresome to deal with, and more often than not, Tom found himself being lenient towards the boy.

As soon as they were able to see the others they had arrived with it became obvious that Tom was correct. The caretakers were scrambling around, trying to collect all the children. And Tom caught the sight of Mrs Cole 'sneaking' a swig from her flask. With an inward sigh at the show of what he was forced to put up with during his summers, Tom lead a now silent Harry over to the group.

Tom was relieved. In all the rush of new information, he had forgotten to warn Harrison against hissing in front of the muggles. He marked the child's sudden silence to be thought on at a later time. It was ghastly obvious Harrison's parseltongue trait played a heavy role in his 'mute' state.

When the caretakers caught the sight of them, or more specifically, their joined hands, Tom saw quite a few of them stiffen. One of the younger women looked quite openly terrified for the child.

"Tom…" Mrs. Cole looked shrewdly between Tom to his small companion. "Harrison...are you...okay?"

Harrison looked up at Tom to answer the question, Tom gave a pleasant smile to Mrs. Cole. A smile that widened slightly when she flinched. The older he had gotten, the more that particular smile had gotten to her. "Yes of course. Why wouldn't he be?"

Mrs. Cole gave an ugly scowl, but didn't question any further. Tom felt particularly disgusted. Muggles. Not for a second did she think of Harrison's safety above her own. No witch or wizard would ever dream of risking the life of a child so dismissively. Magical children more especially.

Tom made sure to seat himself and Harrison in the furthest corner from the front, Three seats away from unwelcomed observers and too nosey children. For the first five minutes of the trip back to the orphanage, he attempted to get answers out of the boy, but Harrison resolutely refused to speak in such close presence to the muggles.

No matter. The fact that the boy was a parselmouth, that he had _magic_, was more than good enough a discovery to keep him busy. He felt a bolt of anxious energy go through him. He certainly had the most interesting reason to research the parselmouth trait this fifth year. It was more than a passing fancy now. He needed to understand more about himself, and that would lead him to knowledge on the boy, and what their shared gift ment. And, possibly most importantly, what was the connection between them. And Tom had no doubt that there was one. In all his years amongst magic in the wizarding world, he had never lain witness or even _heard _of such a resounding coincidence. Magic is rarely so lazy.

No. there was a significance to his young roommate, and the child's sudden presence in his life. He could not stop the smirk that bled onto his face as the boy in question leaned heavily against his side whilst starting to doze to sleep. By the end of the year he would be in possession of all the answers he seeked. Magic had thrown this child into his path, and he would use this to his advantage as it was no doubt intended for him to do.

**It was so hard to find an ending point, im sorry if it was an odd finish.**

**For plot, that I have just now thought up, our young Harry has no last name. I wanted to finish this chapter before I spent time editing chapter 1 (saying this in case j put his last name in the first chapter), but this fact will be important for later. **

**So yeah. I think I might keep Harry 'mute'. At least for some time. I wanna see what I can do with that. It'll certainly make for a few interesting moments in Hogwarts. I have plotted that out too. Dont worry about Harry being too young.**

**Ps: the Snake's name means Terrible Biter in Chinese. Via Google Translate. It has no meaning other than the Yellow-bellied sea snake is found in the Pacific and not on the Atlantic coast near Britain. Meh. He's not too important, really. He might be mentioned again, though. **

**Pps: I might make a crack version of this and post it. Cause I keep almost writing crap lines into this, so I figure I might as well. It'll be the exact same story with my two cents added in. Tell me if any of you would bother reading it. I know a lot of people don't touch crack fics.**

**Ppps: I'm sorry that a lot of the word count is author notes... I _did_ write a fair amount for this chapter, though.**


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